Athazagoraphobia
by Jujubesinjuly
Summary: Juni has survived as a human in the Underground for almost seven years, even making some friends along the way. She plans to stay and live out her life there, but when a new human comes and wreaks havoc, that dream future may be jeopardised. Rated T for some swearing.
1. Chapter 1

Water.

Water all around me, suffocating me. Undyne was right. This river is full of soot and ash to no end. I'll be dead in a matter of minutes if I don't get out very soon. In an oxygen-deprived frenzy, my arms thrash around, desperately searching for something, anything that I could grab hold to. My right hand finds a thick, sturdy brach, and before this possible lifeline slips away, I grab it with all of my strength. I pull myself out of a watery hell and taste the sweetest air of my life.

I scale the branch, which is actually a stray tree root, up to the riverbank, pulling myself up as far as I can to avoid losing consciousness and slipping back in. My lungs burn with the new task of supplying my body with the seemingly endless amount of air it demands. My right hand really hurts, that root was really rough and sharp. I'll have Alphys look at it after I clean myself up.

It's dark, and really cold in Waterfall. I need to get home and change now. The trip through Snowdin is agonizing, and by the time I get to my house just outside of Snowdin Town, I can't feel any of my extremities. I burst through the door and collapse onto the couch. Being inside alone makes me feel a lot better and I want to law there forever, but I go upstairs to my room, peel off my now frozen hoodie and clothes underneath. Thank God none of them stuck to my skin. I put on some pajamas and head back downstairs. I see my phone on the coffee table. It was the best goddamn move of my life to leave it at home. I take it and put it in my room.

I put a kettle of water on the stove and get the peppermint tea out from the hutch in the kitchen. I sit down for a moment, thinking about nothing in particular. I'm about to go get some food when the kettle starts whistling. I hastily take it off the stove and pour some water into a cup with a tea bag in it. I don't want to wake Safire up and worry her. She has enough on her plate already.

I sit at the table and down one, two, three cups of tea before deciding I should probably go to bed. As I scale the stairs up and head towards my room, I hear Safire stir from her room. I freeze and try to look as casual as possible. When she doesn't come out after about 30 seconds, I continue into my room and silently shut the door behind me.

It takes me about ten seconds to realize there's no way in hell that I'm going to get any sleep. I grab my sketchbook from my desk, with a pencil marking the nearest clean page. I open it up and start to draw. I decide on drawing an eye, manga-style, big, blue, and bold, I form the outer eye shape, eyelashes, and a dark, striking eyebrow to match. Eventually I realize that the eye has a glint of fear, and even some instinct in it, as if a danger has just come before it and it's deciding whether to flee or hold their own. I can't figure out the exact expression, and it's hurting my already-muddled head. I put the sketchbook down and decide to just lay on my bed and stare at the ceiling. My vision blurs, and suddenly my mind is blank. I don't need to worry or think about anything.

I'd guess it was about ten minutes, but it feels like I've been in that state for hours when my phone's ringtone goes off and snaps me out of it.

 _ **SIT DOWN JOHN, YOU FAT MOTH-**_

I quickly answer the phone before it wakes up Saf. "Hello?" I say, still half in a daze.

"Juni, Where the hell are you? It's been almost two hours since you left!"

It's Undyne. I vaguely remember saying I would come back in 15 minutes. Shit. I must have worried her half to death.

"Sorry, I forgot. I'm fine. I'll be over in a minute."

"You better be, or I'm coming over there and dragging you here!" The words are barely across the line when she hangs up.

I force myself out of my room, I grab my phone with my right hand and am reminded painfully that it's injured. I look down at it and instantly wish I hadn't. My palm is covered in cuts, many of which are bleeding. I pocket my phone, grab some gauze from the hall closet and unprofessionally wrap it around my hand. It doesn't seem to be infected at all, but I can't take any chances.

"Juni? What are you doing?"

I jump. Safire's head peeks out of her doorway. Her hair is loose and slightly frizzed. Her eyes are sleepy.

"O-oh, nothing. Just woke up is all. Go back to sleep, Saf."

Safire squints her eyes at me, obviously suspicious. She decides it's not worth her time to argue with me and slips back into her room soundlessly, staring at me the whole time.

Once I am sure she is back in bed, I finish wrapping my hand and grab my coat. At the last minute. I remember the frosting I was supposed to get. I grab it from the fridge last-minute. I put on my boots absent-mindedly and slip out of the front door, trying to make as little noise as possible.

Once I'm a fair distance from my house, I relax a little, knowing that Safire is either asleep, or isn't going to pursue me for whatever reason. As I approach Waterfall, my fuzzy head starts to recall the past events of the day.

At around noon, Undyne called me over to help her bake cupcakes. I was less than thrilled to be subject to a hurricane of a kitchen, but not wanting to be rude, I agreed. When I got there, she and Papyrus had already started, and it started to get completely out of hand when Undyne turned on the mixer and sent batter everywhere. After that I shooed them both out of the kitchen and prepared the cupcakes and put them in the oven. I figured that they could handle taking the cupcakes out of the oven and put them in a cooling rack. I left, saying I would only take 15 minutes to get frosting from my house that I had made earlier. Still, how did this lead me into falling into the river?

I recall walking past the river, minding my own business, when a flash of silver caught my eye. It looked like there was jewelry of some sort that had fallen into the river. I only saw it for a split second before it was gone, so I leaned in closer to see it again. That's when I slipped onto the mud and fell in.

I snap out of my thinking daze when I realize I'm approaching Undyne's house. When I knock on the door, she immediately answers. She looks pissed to no end. But instead of yelling at me, she just looks and me apprehensively and says, "Your hair is wet."

I do some quick ad-libbing. "Yeah, something splashed up from behind me. Had to go home and clean up. Lost track of time, I guess."

Undyne doesn't seem to notice my hand, which is good, because I have no idea how to talk myself out of that one.

"I put the cupcakes on the cooling rack, like you said." Undyne rolls her eyes and lets me in.

I peek in the kitchen, which is thankfully still intact. The cupcakes are untidily placed on the rack, but otherwise OK. I set the container full of icing next to the rack and sit on the counter. I cannot believe that I, a pitiful human, have survived something that nearly took out Undyne herself.

Undyne thunders into the kitchen. "Hey Juni, I forgot to ask you when you came in, what's up with your hand?"


	2. Chapter 2

p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"I bite back a curse. How in the hell am I going to explain this? Undyne's not going to fall for any crap, so my lie had better be damn good. My mind races to find a believable response as I try not to let my surprise./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"I think I may have found something believable. "I-I was making tea, and spilt the water and burned myself a little." She can't see my actual hand, so this should hopefully quench any sort of suspicion. Undyne narrows her eyes at me, and decides it's not worth her time to pry an answer out of me. Instead, she turns her attention to the cupcakes, more importantly, the icing./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""Hey, at least you brought what you went for." She opens the icing and inspects it carefully. "By the way, I sent Papyrus home. Figured his brother would get worried if he was out too long."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"She looked at me. "You could go if you wanted to. I got this."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"I normally would stay to make sure that a hurricane doesn't accidentally occur in the kitchen, but I think I've had enough of today./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""I think I'll go home tonight."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"Undyne says nothing. Her back is turned, examining the cupcakes, so I grab my coat and sneak out of the house quietly. I have no idea why I felt the need to sneak out like that. Then it hit me. Undyne still scares me shitless to this day, even though we're friends.I still envision her suited up in her armor, spear in hand, ready to strike, terrifyingly huge. I shake the image from my head. As I leave Snowdin Town towards my house, the darkness becomes total, I'm tempted to use fire to light my way, but decide it would draw too much attention. strong(She can use fire long story will be explained later this chapter)/strong/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"The lights are all out at my house, so I sneak in gently, turning on the living room lights on my way in. I sit on the couch and unwrap my hand, in which the pain has subsided for the most part. I find that the cuts have been reduced to scars, probably from the tea I drank earlier. I decide to just sleep on the couch./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"I have a flashback of a dream. I see my grandmother, in her old clothes that look like you wouldn't even be able to get them anymore under normal circumstances, and the smell of cigarettes and car freshener she brought with her. When I plunge into complete darkness, I still hear her voice, smooth and deep, telling me the story I know by heart now./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"emMany generations ago, two races ruled Earth: Humans and Monsters. They lived in harmony, until humanity declared war. After a long battle, the humans were victorious. They sealed the monsters underground with a magic spell. But, there were two lovers, one human, one monster. The two had twin children. Each took one child, and parted ways with their lover./em/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"emIt is said that all of the descendants of those children have some small fragmented part of the other race's magic inside their soul, but very few can tap into the power such a SOUL holds./em/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"emWhen one is able to harness such power, they…/em/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"Nanny never got to finish her story before my dad came in. "Hate to cut you two off, but Juni has a speech presentation tomorrow."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"Nanny nodded. "Ah yes, wouldn't want to interfere with that. Good night, June."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"I glowed with pride. No one else in the world called me June. It sounded so elegant./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""Juni? JU-NI."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"I roll farther into the bed, "No, let me sleep." I open my eyes and realize I'm not in my childhood bed, but on the couch in my new home./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"Safire looms over me, an annoyed look on her face. She puts her phone speaker close to me and blasts music out of it. Right into my EAR./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""Aaaah!" I groan, yanking myself away from the phone into a sitting position./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"Safire grins. "Finally awake. Breakfast is ready, Sleeping Beauty."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"I drag myself into the kitchen, where two plates of waffles have been placed neatly on the counter. I take the plate on the left and sit on the couch. One bite tells me she made chocolate chip waffles. She must want something out of me./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"Safire sits next to me, plate in hand. "How is it?" she asks, noticing I've only eaten one bite. "Not bad," I say dismissively. They're delicious, but I'm two tired to focus on how it tastes./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""There was a bit of news while you were asleep," She says./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""Oh?" I say, only half listening. Most of the 'news' down here involves Lesser Dog and another one of his failed snow-dogs with the insanely long neck./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"I take a bite of my waffle, smiling to myself at the thought./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"Safire sits up a little straighter, her red and black ponytail matted my the couch./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""There's a human in the Underground."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"I choke on my food, then swallow. "Shut up, Safire. You've pulled that joke before. It's old./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"Safire looks at me, and I can tell she's serious. I feel the colour drain from my face./p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""Do you know where they are right now?"/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""Waterfall, I think."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""Then that's where I'm going. I'll let you know when I find them."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"I grab my phone and raincoat, and rush out the door,/p  
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"strongA/N: Hey guys. I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while, and that this is a short chapter. I just had some school stuff that I had to deal with, and that had to come first. Hope you enjoy, and sorry for the wait!/strong/p


	3. Chapter 3

I run through the town, not noticing that there's barely anyone out today. I have no idea why I feel the need to rush and find this human, but there's a very bad feeling in my gut. It may just be concern for their safety, because I, as a human, wasn't very well received at first. But this human can presumably SAVE and LOAD, which I cannot, so they would have an advantage.

As I reach Waterfall, I realize I've been sprinting this entire time. I slow down, and the exertion catches up to me. I gasp big lungfuls of humid Waterfall air just as it starts to rain. Great. This is exactly why I don't like Waterfall. I've hated rain since I was little. I need to find this human, though, so I bite back a groan and walk.

My body feels drained from all of the running, but I force myself to keep going, until I reach the statue. It looks different today, but I can't put my finger on it…

An umbrella. There's an umbrella on top, shielding the huge statue from the rain.

Someone has been here. It could very well be that little Monster Kid in the sweater, but I'm not taking any chances, I keep going.

Somewhere along the way, I see footprints in the wet ground. I listen to the Echo Flowers for any signs of people talking past them but they are strangely silent.

I reach Temmie Village, which seems normal enough. One of the Tems looks a little excitable, though.

"Have you seen anything… odd today?" I ask quietly, leaning down to the slightly vibrating Tem.

"tem haz seen Human!" They say. They aren't the most eloquent speakers, but I accustomed myself to their strange way of speaking overtime.

So the human's been here, I think to myself. "Do you know which way they went?" I ask, trying not to sound too aggressive with my questions.

"yes! human wentz THERE!" Tem points to the dark entry-and-exitway to Temmie Village.

"Well, it's a start. Thanks, Tem," I say as I leave.

No sooner had I left then I heard soft music, coming from what I like to call the "History Lesson", that is, it's full of plaques explaining the war of Humans and Monsters, and the prophecy explaining how one day they will be freed by an angel or something. Honestly, I've only ever skimmed over the panels, just wanting to get the heck out of Waterfall.

I jog over to the History Lesson, the music getting louder as I approach. Eventually I pinpoint the location of the piano music. You guessed it.

The piano room.

The music is still playing. Apparently whoever's playing it either didn't hear me approaching, or just doesn't care. Which is unlikely.

I slowly approach the dark entryway to the piano room. Taking a deep breath, I grab my knife from my belt, keeping it hidden just in case it's someone I know.

Then I go in.

Sitting at the piano is a small child in a purple and blue sweater. The child looks human, but I can't be sure. When I finally talk, my voice is barely audible.

"U-um, hello? Who are you?"

The small child suddenly lifts their arms from the piano and gets up, turning around in the process. That confirms it, they're human alright.

 _Alright, you found them, now what?_ My mind whispers. My tongue goes numb and I want to run, but my legs won't move.

 _Shiiiiiiiit. Think of an excuse, Juni. Come on._

I stammer out what lame excuse my suddenly trashed brain cranks out.

"Uuuh. I came to find you to make sure you're alright. Have you meant Undyne?"

The child nods. They haven't said a word this whole time, but they look scared the mention of Undyne.

"Yeah… I know. She can be a bit… brutish. And big. Don't worry, though, she gets a lot better once you get to know her."

Well, it's start to befriending the child, who seems harmless. I hope appearances aren't deceiving.

 **AN: I am SO SO SORRY I haven't updated in so long! I had school stuff and other annoying personal garbage that had to come first. That's all settled now, so hopefully be updating a little more often. Hope you had a great March Break!**


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